[Photo: FSFE]Have you ever put a load of laundry into a washing machine, and had to keep running up and down flights of stairs to check if it's done? Fortunately, a little tinkering with your machine could let you keep an exact countdown of when your load will be complete, thanks to an Arduino controller and a little tinkering.

"Micha" from the Fellowship of Free Software Foundation Europe(FSFE) blog created Laundruino so he wouldn't have to run downstairs only to get an inaccurate reading on the washing machine's screen. Micha opened up his washer and connect it to his LAN. The washing machine can now alert Micha via his laptop when the washing is finished, how long it has been finished, and when it will finish, all via an http server. He hooked up an Arduino board, ethernet shield, opto-coupler, perfboard and resistor, soldering out the original LED system.

Micha gets a LOW signal when the washing is done, and HIGH signal if the machine is switched off or running. You can check out his images of the build on the FSFE blog post.

This is a pretty useful hack if you don't like constantly getting up or running up and down stairs--plus, it saves having to re-wash clothes and sheets you forgot to get out earleir.

You can download the code needed for free if you would like to give it a try yourself.